The 16 Biggest Breakout Stars of 2016

It feels like every year, there’s a new kid on the celeb block that we all fall in love with — they seemingly come out of nowhere, or they’ve been around a while/have been part of a group, and have finally made a name for themselves. But 99% of the time, these stars have done their due diligence and put in the long hours, hard work and dedication it takes to truly maximize their star power and potential.

Still, you can’t help who you fall in love with or why, and these 16 celebrities captured our hearts, minds, eyes, and ears as they broke out of their former molds and into the industry as stars in their own right. It’s up to the following years to judge whether they’re here to stay or whether their star will fizzle out. Read on to see our picks for the 16 biggest breakout stars (or groups) of 2016:

Zayn Malik

While his 2015 breakup with his former bandmates from One Direction was a tad messy, we think it's safe to say he came out on top; with a hot model GF in Gigi Hadid, a bestselling new solo album, Mind of Mine, and a Best New Artist of the Year win at the 2016 American Music Awards, Zayn sans 1D seems like he's here to stay.

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